1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to the structure of drinking straws and paperboard packages for beverage usage and more particularly it relates to an improved straw and an improved straw hole on the paperboard package for clean and easy drinking of the beverage by avoiding undesired spewing out of internal beverage fluid from the straw when holding and compressing the package, as well as by allowing less sucking effort when drinking.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Normally, the beverage packages containing various fruit beverages comprise a rectangular shaped paperboard box and a straw attached on the box. The box can be made of a fibrous carrier layer and an aluminum foil layer to seal the fluid, as taught in the U.S. Pat Nos. 4,287,247 (Sept. 1, 1981) and R. 32,956 (June 20, 1989). The straw is a thin-wall thermal plastic tube which is detachable from the box and insertable into the box by using one of its end breaking the aluminum foil layer through a hole on the outside carrier layer. After inserting into the box, the straw is surrounded and hold by both the layers. There is very limited air passage between the straw and the package hole because the hole size is just the same as that of the straw and also the broken portion of the aluminum foil layer will surround the straw wall in a restoring action. Therefore, when people holding such a package with an inserted straw, undesired spewing or spraying may occur occasionally if the holding finger force is large, causing sudden deformation of the package and the internal air has no enough passage to leak out but can only push the beverage fluid to spew out from the straw. On the other hand, when people sucking up the beverage through the straw, there is no enough passage for air flow in, a vacuum pressure is generated inside the package so that the sucking force has to be large. It is obvious both these two aspects are unsuitable, especially for children application.
The prior art includes a variety types of plural straw structure for beverage drinking. The most pertinent references appear to be U.S. Pat. No. 3,409,224 as issured on Nov. 5, 1968 and U.S. Pat. No. 3,438,578 issured on Apr. 15, 1969 which relate to the structure and manufacturing method for flexible drinking straws made of thermoplastic materials.
The U.S. Pat. No. 2,943,794 issured on July 5, 1960 provides a single drinking straw with holes on the straw wall to introduce air into the liquid for beverage aeration.
The U.S. Pat. No. 2,979,267 issured on Apr. 11, 1961 shows a drinking straw arrangement comprising evenly spaced fin-shaped elements on the wall to provide both a spoon and a straw.
The U.S. Pat. No. 3,718,282 issured on Feb. 27, 1973 teaches a two-straw device which transforms noncarbonated beverage into a bubbly effervescent drink by introducing air into the beverage when drinking.
The U.S. Pat. No. 3,792,798 issued on Feb. 19, 1974 teaches straw holes of various shapes on a single-layer liquid container to receive unbendable straws of corresponding cross section shapes.
The European patent No. 305-789-A1 issued on Mar. 8, 1989 discloses an arrangement and method for a suction tube which has at least one foldable portion at its near-middle portion to attach with a conventional drinking container.
Many other U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,815,981, 3,749,312, 4,340,175, 4,657,182, 4,688,721, 4,850,533, and 4,909,437 are representatives of drinking straws that comprising multiple elements to provide flexible and elongatable sucking tubes.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for an improved straw and straw hole structure on the paperboard beverage packages. Such new straw and straw hole structure should satisfy the following criteria to provide acceptance by users, especially children, using those sealed beverage packages:
1. The straw and straw hole structure should be able to generate a required air passage for necessary air exchange for clean drinking and easy sucking but also such passage will not allow leak of beverage fluid; PA1 2. The straw should be readily insertable into the beverage package through the straw hole in the usual manner without extra or special effort; PA1 3. The straw and the straw hole on the package should be easily manufactured by using the usual production method or process without extra equipment or cost; PA1 4. The straw and the straw hole on the package should have all other functions the same as that of previous straw and straw hole; PA1 5. The straw should have a safe shape unable to hurt the user, especially young children, during packaging, shipping, handling, and drinking.
The criteria are not available from prior patents, thus, they become the objectives of the present invention.